Pages

Saturday, November 5, 2011

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." -George Washington

Hey Friends, below is a paper I wrote for my writing class, it is called 'Chreia.' Chreia is similar to an argument, and in it, the author's goal is to convince the reader of his point. I am in a writing class that has me practicing this style of writing at Brighton academy. This paper is on a famous saying by George Washington.

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
- George Washington

It is wise to value George Washington for his ability, for he succeeded in leading his country, becoming a general in the Revolutionary War for his bravery. He excelled at organization, and won many battles with his strategy and ability to listen to advice.. He eventually became the President and continued to serve his country both faithfully and modestly. I could go on and on about his wise actions and great accomplishments, but time is short, so I will speak only of his wise words on preserving peace.

"To anticipate war is one one of the most adequate strategies of keeping peace." That is his thought, but in my own words, and I shall continue to praise it in the following.

Consider a newborn nation. It has a wise, knowledgeable general who insists on being ready and thoroughly trained for war at all times. Its enemies look at it and believe it to be a perfect target, an seemingly disorganized nation. Consequently, the enemy, over time, places its men in the newly-born military until the spies knew enough confidential information to send a coded message to their country, the enemy , telling them to attack. But the new prepared nation intercepts the message, breaks the code with their up-to-date equipment , and sets up such strong defenses that the enemy is discouraged and retreats.

But, if a newly-born nation lets down its guard in a happy time of joy and peace, presuming the war is far off, their experienced enemies will quickly take advantage of the lazy nation's ignorance. The ill-prepared country will quickly fall, defeated by its numerous enemies.

Just as a practiced hiker acknowledges that an accident may occur despite his years of experience and survives by being prepared, in the same way a military trains persistently even in a time of peace, and intimidates their enemies when war arises.

Consider the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. America was in a time of peace, with most of its navy simply resting unguarded in the peaceful Pearl Harbor. When the stealthy Japanese came in with thier planes and bombed the ships, everyone was caught off guard and suffered over two thousand deaths and an additional two thousand wounded , because of how unready they were.

"Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear. (Aesop, Fables)" This is similar to what Washington said, for what he explained as being prepared for war, Aesop showed as giving up small luxuries to live in peace. Both phrases are alike, just in different words.

Those who hear my words and agree with them must praise George Washington for his educated proverb on preserving peace.